The Fiery Furnace
King Nebuchadnezzar made a huge image of gold. It was almost 27 meters tall and 3 meters wide. He commanded that all the officials of the provinces should come to the dedication of his image. When they were all assembled together a herald told them that when they heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, they were to fall down and worship the image. Whoever would not fall down would be cast into a burning fiery furnace.
So when the officials from the provinces heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, they fell down and worshiped the image. Then some of the Chaldeans came to king Nebuchadnezzar to accuse the Jews. They told him, "O king, live for ever! You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image; and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no heed to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up."
Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. They brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image which I have made, well and good; but if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace; and who is the god that will deliver you out of my hands?"
Here we see what the image meant to king Nebuchadnezzar. He did not care what god the people in his kingdom worshiped. He was going to force them to worship the "god" he had made. This was his way of showing off how powerful he was.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to wait to answer you in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up."
This declaration shows us that Daniel's friends believed that God could stop Nebuchadnezzar from throwing them into the furnace and they were hoping He would. But even if God did nothing for them they still would be faithful to Him. Actually God did not answer them the way they hoped. He did nothing to prevent them from being thrown into the furnace.
Instead, Nebuchadnezzar became full of fury and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it should be heated. And he ordered certain mighty men of his army to bind them and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their mantles, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were cast into the burning fiery furnace.
Because the king's order was strict and the furnace very hot, the flame of the fire slew those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He said to his counselors, "Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?" They answered the king, "True, O king." He answered, "But I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods."
Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace and said, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come forth, and come here!" Then they came out from the fire. And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men; the hair of their heads was not singed, their mantles were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them.
Nebuchadnezzar said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set at nought the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins; for there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way." Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
What would have been the result if they had worshiped the great image?
What was the result of their faithfulness?
Verses in the Bible that refer to this story: Dan. 3:1-30